


Zhongli really didn't plan for this

by Zezelchark



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Gen, Politics, River monsters with Childe fisherman extraordinaire, Spirit World, Spirits, The Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom might be at war but..., Trivia bros Wan and Zhongli, Zhongli is Bad at Feelings (Genshin Impact), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29909967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zezelchark/pseuds/Zezelchark
Summary: Spirits were both common and uncommon to the worldBut what about Gods?Zhongli really didn't expect to have children chasing after him due to this
Relationships: Hu Tao & Zhongli (Genshin Impact), Zhongli & Wan Shi Tong
Comments: 20
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

Wan Shi Tong was not someone who could say they had many friends, in either the spirit world or the physical world, but he would say that more often than not other spirits would come to him as an in-between to solve some argument. Through seeing as he had brought the whole of his library into the physical world to make gathering knowledge easier and as well as spread said knowledge, he hadn’t had much contact with the spirit world since aside from his knowledge seekers. On occasion some of the spirits that enjoyed the physical world more than the spirit world would come by once in a few hundred years, usually to seek some knowledge of something they needed or donate something to him.

The few special times through one would come just to talk was a nice break from the endless organization of the shelves and keeping the documents in good condition. Currently he was sharing a rather nice, if a little spicy, fire nation tea with one special visitor.

“It seems you have kept with your brewing talents Wan Shi Tong.” The calm voice of his guest spoke as he ideally sipped his drink. “Steeped well and the flavor is just enough to make it remember-able, is this the tea that was famous on Ember Island when Avatar Roku was a child?”

“Indeed, some combination of ginger root, green tea, and a few others.” He let the small ounce of pride seep into his voice as he spoke.

“I will have to remember it when I return to Ba Sing Se.” The click of his cup meeting the table echoed throughout the room. “It is said that you have closed your library to the mortals.”

Wan Shi Tong let the anger show in his eyes, and his voice as he spoke. “Yes, it has accorded to me that humans have and will always use my knowledge for war, so I deemed them forbidden.”

“Even that Avatar? Should he leave his self-made prison that is.”

“Ha, that boy who hosts Raava is a fool one who doesn’t even have enough forethought to see what fleeing, like he did, could cause. Like all airbenders he is too wrapped up in his own mind and amusement. So no, should he leave his prison of ice even he is forbidden from entering.”

“I see…this conversation, as always, has been enlightening.” Standing his guest let a few golden coins fall from his hands, as well as a small scroll. “The obituaries of Ba Sing Se, enough to cover the last year. Be well He who knows ten thousand things.”

“And you as well God of Contracts.”

* * *

Ba Sing Se was an old city, probably the oldest surviving Earth Kingdom city being at least five thousand years old and had survived many things in its storied history. From invading armies, like that of Chin the Conqueror or Iroh the Dragon of the West, to even natural disasters that cracked and crumbled the bedrock below the cities walls. It had lived through it all with scars and marks to show for it.

Some gave this survivability to the strength of the earthbenders that kept the walls undamaged, others say it was the blessing of the land’s spirits that favored the city and those that lived in it. Either way the city was famous for its safety, which in turn lead to the city being the main destination for the refugees that the Hundred-year war had made countless times again and again.

And so way stations were made, ones that held people headed into the city, ones that allowed for people to be protected while they waited, ones that extended the reach of the city farther than the walls of the city.

Way stations that needed two things to work as cleanly and quickly as they could.

Money.

And funeral services, as many of the refugees would not make it into the cities hospitals or died while waiting.

It was for this seconded point that a man by the name of Zhongli came in. A consultant for the semi-famous Wangsheng Funeral parlor inside the city, he was tasked with making sure each way station had the necessary equipment needed for funerals as well as recording the name of each person who perished. Slowly he was becoming more and more of a common face, a sad thought, and yet it was also a good thing to see him as usually once he left a station more people were allowed forward in his wake.

Zhongli’s voice was calm, seemingly ignoring the corpses spread out in front of him as people watched on. “…Qingxin: Death by infected burns. Lee Dai: Death by starvation. Lee Chin: Killed by Jangli. Jangli: Killed by Lee Chin.” The scribbling of his pencil seemingly echoed as he spoke quietly to himself some more before snapping shut the book, he wrote in. “Guard Xiong Hui, please make sure these bodies get the correct rights done to them, I will be leaving before I can administer the rights myself.”

The people watched him leave the graveyard seemingly uncaring as he made his way past.


	2. Chapter 2

The Si Wong desert. A life sucking area within the Earth Kingdom, known for little more than the tribes of sandbenders the cling to life within the borders of it, and the sheer number of people that have traveled into it only to disappear below the ocean of sand. With only one landmark it was beyond easy to get lost, even for the sandbenders who lived their whole lives in the sands, and yet that single landmark allowed for more myths to be created about it them even some of the more famous mountains in the Earth Kingdom.

In the records of Ba Sing Se it is said that the Si Wong Rock is all that remains of an old mountain chain made by Badgermoles when showing people how to turn the earth in their hands, other books say it was once the base of the original Earth Kings fortune before a rebellion of his army crushed the castle and the area around it into a fine powder making it the sand it was today. To the sandbenders their oral legends say the rock was created when an angry god threw it from the heavens as punishment on those it crushed for not following the rules, they had set out long ago.

_Technically all three of them were correct in some way._ Zhongli ideally thought as he stood on the lip of the Si Wong Rock’s southern facing side. The noon sun hot over head poring its heat unto the sand and stone below. The small sandstorms of the sandcraft almost glinting in the rays. Closing his eyes, he let himself rise a foot and tap it to the rock, the hollow earth within echoing with his power creating a map to his mind.

A small smile appeared on his face as he manifested a few gold deposits in uncarved areas of the rock, along with a few Cor Lapis crystals scattered about.

“A gift from the Ground Breaker to the few who remember him.” The quiet mutter echoed throughout the sand and stone below him.

* * *

While the sheer size of the Earth Kingdom encompassed more than half of the worlds livable land, although that number was steadily decreasing as the Fire Nation continued the Hundred year war while building more and more colonies, large and thriving settlements were more of a rare commodity. Aside from Ba Sing Se, the likes of Omashu and Gaoling the kingdom mostly consisted of small self-sufficient villages or military encampment towns built up usually in the last hundred years.

Ignoring Kiyoshi island as it was a basically fully independent city state, and the neutrality contract between it and the Fire Nation further enforcing its own independence, one of the more prosperous villages was the main harbor of Chameleon Bay a decent sized place called Wangshu.

Wangshu, like Kiyoshi in some manner, was different than most villages, towns, or cities within the Kingdoms borders. While the majority of the places tended to stick with the official coloration of the Earth Kingdom, the Jade green and gold, Wangshu either to show off their location on the coast line or perhaps just as an aesthetic choice, built most of their building with red painted wood with only earthbending the support pillars to hold up the town.

As Zhongli stepped off the ferry on the main dock of the town, he like his amber gaze flow over. Ignoring the few calls of recognition, he gained from the few open-air stalls on the dock he made his way to the most famous landmark of the town.

Wangshu Inn.

Built around a large stone pillar the Inn was the oldest building within the town, said to be even older than Ba Sing Se the Inn has served as both a famous Earth Kingdom landmark and visiting spot, and a place of semi neutrality during times of civil war hosting more than a few treaty negotiations before Ba Sing Se and its rulers conquered the land for themselves. With two paths to the peak, one a large winding staircase that people training tended to take as a stamina test, and a wooden elevator the Inn was more often than not filled with people either staying their or sampling it menu.

Legends also state that the Inn hosts a powerful spirit and its blessing protects any who stand within it from danger.

“Xiao.” Zhongli’s voice was quiet, and yet seemed to echo around the bonsai and rock miniatures. Then the sound of feet hitting wood came from behind him.

“Zhongli, what brings you hear?” Xiao spoke as he tilted his head, his young voice causing a slight wind to blow.

Shaking his head Zhongli brought his gaze away from him. “A simple visitation is all. How have you been?”

Xiao walked up next to him, looking over the town and the docks below. “Ah…I have been fine, there have been few threats that have encroached Wangshu although a Fire Nation has been seen in the bay from time to time.”

“Oh, that is news to me.”

“I believe it to be the recently banished prince, although why Agni has let his favored wander freely I cannot tell you.”

Zhongli let out a sigh and cupped his chin. “Intriguing. I have other business to do here, tonight though please meet with me at the restaurant.”

Xiao gave a bow, his spear pressing into the wooden floor. “Oh course my lord.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment with your thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Bring the incense, light above the body, and swing it. Say the prayers clap three times and entomb the body within the earth.

This is the funeral for a poor man.

Place the crystals upon the body’s joints, wrap them around. Light the torches and the incense, create the tomb. Shatter the gold at the cardinal directions around the body. Clap three times and close the tomb, sink it into the earth.

This is the funeral for a wealthy man.

Garb the body in the royal funeral clothes, cover the face with a death veil. Parade the body to the town, light the lanterns, light the incense, during sunset say the prayers. Use a gold coin to mark each year ruled. Entomb the body and craft the stone soldiers of protection.

This is the funeral for a King.

A stab of her spear, and a quick cremation.

This was going to be the funeral for the Fire Nation “ambassador” if she had to listen to him speak one more time.

“It’s not the point of the size of the catch, it’s the fight it puts up, the danger it causes the sheer thrill of the adrenaline coursing though your blood!” The irate voice spoke again, calling over the small courtyard that marked one of parks in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se. The flame haired man was holding his forehead while having his free hand raised in an angry manner. Standing across from him was some no name rich guy she couldn’t bother to remember, not her fault they all look the same, though this man did have the darker skin that hinted at some southern water tribe blood in his ancestry.

“Bah, whatever danger catch holds means nothing if the catch itself is not worth it. Catching a Tiger-shark holds no use aside from the large amount of bone and cartilage the beast has, sure it’ll fight you, but it is a fruitless fight and a waste of time. UNLIKE Dolphin-piranha dangerous sure but only should you fall into the waters itself, and the large schools they travel in ma-.” The man was cut off as the Ambassador gave what could only be called disgusted snort.

“Dolphin-piranha are you serious right now! Please I’ll admit the schools they travel in does lead to large amount caught but they barely fight once you have lined them or even better harpooned them. No, the true catch is obviously the Narwhal-serpent! With its si-” At this point she placed her hands on her ears to try and keep out the fishing talk that grew louder and louder.

_Why couldn’t I just not come to this event!_ Hu Tao silently cried out

* * *

Xiao sat alone, as he always has, watching the sea lip up the harbors and wade itself upon the beaches. Wangshu Inn letting him see the majority of the town that grew out from it, the people in the streets, the red capped buildings, the masts of the ships, even the few animals that called the rooftops and the alleys home. It was strange although not much of a mystery really that a town had grown up around the Inn, it was one of the few remnants of an age forgotten one of war, one of bloodshed, one of death.

And the karma he carried to this day hung low off of his shoulders in remembrance of it.

Nibbling on his almond tofu, one of the few things he could say he honestly was happy still existed, he watched as Morax…Zhongli moved down the main path. His steppes confident and precise as always before he stopped at one of the street vendors. This one operated by an old woman selling various tea ware, even from his height Xiao could see the faint glow of Cor Lapis and Jade crafted well into the wares.

“Ah…it seems he hasn’t given up yet on that strange hobby he started.” He muttered to himself as Zhongli carried his new purchase farther on. Standing he picked up his place and made his way to the kitchen, setting it down in what the chef has not so subtlety declared the “Spirit dishes” spot.

Returning to his view point he spied Zhongli speaking to an old man at the port, probably fire nation based on his clothes and top knot. While it wasn’t well known Wangshu was technically on neutral ground due to an old treaty made by Firelord Sozin and the Earth King during the start of the hundred year war, a harbor to keep open and unoccupied from both sides to allow trade to continue if at a reduced rate then before. The fact it was known that Xiao still made his home in the region probably had something to do with it, he knew Sozin had known he existed when he and Avatar Roku had gone on quest to prove he existed.

On that front fire nationals tended to be left alone on the harbor and not stray to far into the town, and likewise people who lived in Wangshu treated them the same.

The old man pointed out a small table on the harbor, where he and Zhongli sat down and began playing some bored game.

_I wonder…this is old man the business he said he had to take care of?_ Xiao thought to himself as he leaned on the railing, feeling the wind blow past him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smaller chapter than normal dont worry tho
> 
> also no I didnt look up the rules of Pai-sho, and this is like 90% world building

“A noctilucous jade encrusded tea pot, tipped with Cor Lapis on the rim…it would be a shame to miss such an opportunity to purchase it.” Zhongli spoke softly as he examined the tea pot. “Ah it even has retained the natural glow of both without clashing and ruining the balance between the two of them, truly a marvel I haven’t seen in a long time.”

“Ohoho, you are too kind young man.” The old woman’s laugh was graceful and when she was younger probably rang like spring bells. “It is nothing, merely an old woman’s hobby.”

“If that is what you say I will have to see what you have in stock next time I am in Wangshu, how much for the tea pot…and those lion-turtle and dragon chopsticks.”

Placing the chopsticks on the counter the old woman gave Zhongli a show of teeth. “For the both of them the total would come out to 200,000 gold coins, which is after the small discount from that lovely complement you gave me.”

“Nonsense, I will pay full price, the craftsmanship and lack of availability means I must show proper respect.” Zhongli said while bring out a small paper booklet

“450,000 gold coins then.”

“A small price to pay for such a beautiful piece of art.”

* * *

Pai-Sho was what people referred to as the game of ancients, due to the fact records of it has existed since below the time of the first Avatar Wan. As such the game has evolved in independent ways within each nation. To the Fire Nation it was called “The Grand Strategy” with generals and politicians practicing the game in their free time against each other to learn the ins and out of their thinking processes, the current Firelord however forbid anyone from playing it while he was in a room. To the Earth Kingdom’s the game shared two names depending where you were, “Walls of Ba Sing Se” to those that lived in or around the city and “Morax’s fortifications” elsewhere.

Although it wasn’t really known who Morax was or how the name had caught on, but scholars have found references to the name in old bard songs that were recorded.

To the Water Tribes it was called “The dance of Tui and La” after the spirits of the Moon and the Ocean, similar famous players of the game tended to have a strategy focus around the way of waves. Finally to the Air Nomads the game took on the name “The Bard’s ballet” after the most famous bard of a bygone time who was said to have mastered air bending to the point where he could play and play his interments without a glider or any other help.

And to the two players of the game on the docks of Wangshu each had their own plays and thoughts of the other player.

 _A layout I haven’t seen in a long time, a solid defense yet with enough placements allowing for precise attacks, were it not for my white lotus plays it would put me on the back foot._ These were the thoughts of Iroh General of the Fire Nation

 _I do not understand why Barbados seemed to enjoy this game so much,_ Zhongli thought as he absently placed down another tile _While I will admit this game currently is having some of my attention I do not understand why we haven’t brought out the alcohol yet…or was that just a gimmick of Barbatos’s tournaments?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all let me say...how and why did this like explode in popularity?!
> 
> Second of all, enjoy

The southern air temple was a beautiful place, just close enough to the south pole to allow the chilled glacial winds to flow up the cliff face and form the famous clouds that surrounded it when it mixed with the hot winds that came from the north. The amount of skeletal remains inside, both of human and animal, did take away from the beauty, however. As did the overgrown plants, though to the Bard it did make the temple have a feeling of returning to nature. The acoustics still lived loud and clear in the courtyards and the halls and wandering them reminded him of the old ruins of Delvin’s lair.

A soft song echoed throughout the ruins, the wind seeming to pick up the voice and the plucks of the lyre. The quiet words rocking the grass and twisting over the stones. The sharp yet purposeful notes creating almost a vibration in the air itself. Bodyless laughter and amazement joining in with the song as it rose to a climax. Only for it to slowly lose the energy it once held, the notes becoming few and far between and the words becoming disquiet.

“And thus, the tale of the South Wind draws to a close…” The Bard uttered to the ghosts of the past.

* * *

The Eastern air temple was no different, if only the skeletons had been cleaned and placed in makeshift graves. The three mountains connected by bridges of white stone was said to be the air temple most in tune with the spirit world, and to some this was true with the concept of chakras built into the temple itself. It was to no surprise that a guru had taken to living in the temple seeking enlightenment of some kind, a kind perhaps that he kept to himself and would one day share.

The Bard stood alone atop the highest of the mountains, blowing calmly into a flute the melody catching the wind within its grasp and tearing into it with he might of a dragon. Overruling the natural breezes, the melody roared with terrible power before it stopped and calmed taking on a up draft rising higher and higher and blowing away.

The Bard drew away from his flute, a soft smile on his lips.

* * *

The Western air temple, the birthplace of the avatar Yangchen, could only be called a temple of isolation. Situated below a cliff face the temple was built upside down and hidden from all but those who knew how to get to it. Paintings of sky bison littered the temple, some even cared into the very stone itself, along with murals of other such things.

To the Bard it was the saddest temple, one he didn’t spend much time at if he could get away with it. And yet while he stood atop the cliff above the temple, ideally humming an age-old tale he could only think about the past. How things have changed, how things will change again, and how at the end of it he will be there to tell the tale of the past. A hopeful bard singing the tales of heroes and spirits.

* * *

The Bard sat strumming his harp, his voice calling out to all who would listen telling the tale of a storm forgotten. Of birds flying in the skies, of the animals on the ground. Of the blessing of freedom in the air.

And the people of the Northern air temple sang along, some danced, and some wrote down his words. Each with a smile on their face while the wind blew past the Bard and out into the word.

A song of freedom and remembrance.


	6. Chapter 6

There was a rumor spreading in Kiyoshi Island, a rumor that caught the ears of many and made them turn their heads to it. A rumor that the Avatar had returned and arrived at the island. The rumor had started at the beaches shore, by a young girl who had been collecting shells who had heard the soft plucking of a harp within one of the trees. There she says she saw him, a young boy glad in green and white playing with the wind as if it were instruments to follow his harp. Running back to her mother she spoke about the boy, and soon enough the Kiyoshi warriors arrived upon the beach to see if the claims of the girl were true. This didn’t stop the rumors, however.

The warriors found the boy the girl spoke about standing on a rock rising out of the water, ideally strumming on his harp.

“I am not the avatar.” Spoke the Bard in a voice the wind carried. “I am but a bard traveling the world.”

And the warriors of Kiyoshi turned back to the village a wayward bard following their footsteps humming a quiet tune.

* * *

There was a rumor on Ember Island that the avatar had returned, and so the soldiers readied themselves for a fight. The rumor had started when people had started to notice the air had taken on a different feeling, not the hot and relaxing it normally did but instead one of coldness and a feeling that filled them all with a belief in themselves. The soldiers movement was called off soon enough when no evidence came to the front, and instead the people focused on other things.

To the Bard sitting in a bar nursing a glass of wine, the only thing that mattered in the moment was the open window and the glare from the blood haired bartender. Twirling around the Pai-Sho chip in his hand he stood and made his way over to a small gathering of players in the corner.

* * *

There was a Bard in the North Pole. Garbed in green and white he sat atop one of the railings on a bridge singing a song of freedom and change, his harps melody echoing off the ice and the water. People stopped to listen in their daily life, a few placed a donation of coin to the Bard or offered to buy him a meal should he request it. To the Princess Yue the song of freedom let her imagine the wind of the open ocean blowing through her hair and freedom from her marriage. In her head took root a wish, and her heart yearned for it.

To the spirits of the Moon and of the Ocean, it was a melody they had heard long ago and time and time again, yet each time it filled them with happiness to know the one who sang it still wandered to this time. And so they swam around each other a little quicker than normal, and perhaps if they jumped out of the water a few times no one would notice.

* * *

There was a Bard in Wangshu Harbor. He walked with the grace of the wind, his harp held loosely in his grasp, a happy smile on his face. Looking over the food, the goods, the jewelry he wandered too and thro seemingly trying to see everything at once.

And at the dock next to a table of old men he stopped, his smile closing his eyes.

“Oh, so it’s only a boring game when we play, you Block-head.” The God of Freedom spoke with the wind.


End file.
